Escalante to Moab – What a ride!

Only landscape photographers can turn a 4 hour drive into a 15 hour trek. What a day we had and what diversity in the landscape we found.

Route 12 Scenic Byway

Sunrise

Starting out way before sunrise, we found a sunrise location just south of Boulder, Utah, looking across a canyon. And yes, we were again Perched on the Edge with a sheer 500 foot drop before us. I should have grabbed a shot from the road below, but the cliff was still in shadow when we departed. The morning sky was bland with minimal alpine glow, but still a pretty scene.

View across the canyon, just before sunrise.

Sunrise glow across the canyon

Route 12, Boulder to Torrey

The mountain sides from Boulder to Torrey, were filled with Aspens as far as the eye could see. Unfortunately, at 9600 feet at the pass, the yellow colored aspens were also past. Still, the white bark of the aspens captivated us as we took a couple of hours to wander the forests of trees. Mental note that we have to return next year a couple of weeks earlier.

Grove of Aspens along a stream

Aspens, tall and white against the blue sky.

Capital Reef National Park

As we left the mountains and forests behind, the canyons of Capitol Reef National Park were displayed before us. Even in this park the diversity is extreme, from yellow Cottonwoods in the valley, to sheer rock walls and gorges. This was my first time to this park and I found it in some ways similar to Zion NP, but more beautiful. The park spans 378 square miles, and wouldn’t you know we spent 2 hours photographing just a 100 yards of a canyon wall? Don’t laugh too hard until you see Jeff’s post on the Canyon Walls. Bottom line, we definitely need to return here.

Jeff shooting the amazing yellow rock formations in the canyon

Iconic shot at Capital Reef. It even looks nice during the middle of the day!

Goblin Valley State Park

The afternoon was getting away from us and we still had one more stop, Goblin Valley State Park. Yes, this really has been a Halloween type trip, with Candyland, Spooky Canyon and now Goblin Valley. We found the light here more amazing after dark. What does that say about the Goblins? (See Jeff’s post tomorrow on Goblin Valley.)

Goblins awaiting sunset

15 hours later we arrived into Moab, exhausted, yet excited enough to stay up late to download and review all our photos.